The Best Jeans for Tall Girls
In this op-ed, Callia Hargrove reveals what it's really like to shop for jeans as a tall girl and the Madewell jeans that became her lifesaver.
Being tall has lots of pros (heels are an option not a necessity; you can reach all of the shelves in the grocery store; etc.) but jean shopping is definitely not one of them.
I've always been on the tall side — I came out of the womb with more leg than body. Most tall girls that grew up that way will tell you that it's not easy. You're usually taller than almost everyone in your class, and your average sized classmates often use this as a reason to tease you. Thankfully, my dad is very tall and taught me never to see my height as a defect, but my mom is quite petite and was the one who I went shopping with the most, so when it came to helping me find jeans there was a huge disconnect.
My saving grace was my grandmother. In an effort to help me embrace my height instead of running from it, she would take all of my pants from the store and alter them so they were made just for me. She is the sole reason that I had confidence as a kid — I never realized that I was different because behind-the-scenes, my grandma was lovingly keeping me from feeling like something was wrong with me just because the stores couldn't come up with designs to fit my frame.
As I got older and more independent, things shifted. For the first time as a teen, I wanted to shop for jeans myself and I couldn't understand why nothing fit me. If they fit in the waist they were too short, often giving me the "high water" effect — something that most kids of color are raised to avoid like the plague. I would bring 15 pairs of jeans into a fitting room and leave with nothing but exhaustion and frustration.
Enter in these Madewell jeans. I heard about them through no less than 3 of my co-workers, one of which I asked point blank: "Your butt always looks great but it looks really amazing today. Who makes those jeans?!?!" She told me the secret lies in the jean's super flattering high waisted fit that has just the right amount of stretch.
I bum rushed to Madewell's site, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the jeans come in tall and gasp taller. Being scorned by jeans of the past (and let's be honest, online shopping in general), I went into my local store to try them on. An angelic sales assistant alerted me that they don't normally carry the tall sizing in store but it was my lucky day — they had one pair in stock.
They fit a little snug, but she told me they'd mold to my body and it was better to size down than up. Boy was she right. After an hour of wearing them for the first time they felt almost like a second skin, but didn't look at all like a legging. The best part: for the first time EVER I had hem to spare at the bottom! I was sold.
If you're a tall girl like me, I'd recommend heading into a Madewell store and trying on for size in the regular fit and then ordering online. If my shorter friends are feeling left out, don't: while they may not come in 'short', the brand offers free hemming services.
Related: The NEW Way Everyone's Wearing Their Denim Jacket
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